Old Trafford should enjoy a champagne lunch today because unless Arsenal rediscover some of their old resilience or the match is abandoned through fog, Manchester United will have been proclaimed champions by the time the rest of the Premier League kicks off. A point will suffice to bring United their 18th title, equalling Liverpool's record, and their second championship hat-trick, a feat unique among English clubs.

Once again Sir Alex Ferguson will be celebrated as the greatest British manager of all and once again he will know that the season's success will only be complete if his team go on to win the Champions League final, this time against Barcelona in Rome on Wednesday week. That would leave United one behind Liverpool on the broader stage with four European Cup triumphs against five.

The statistics are impressive and Manchester United have again provided some footballing moments to savour, even if their overall form this season has been fitful. Yet still it is hard to stifle a yawn while cherishing the hope that from somewhere within the Premier League a fresh force will emerge to challenge the cosy cartel at the top. The competition has become both predictable and repetitive, the only uncertainty being the identity of the fellow manager with whom Ferguson will fall out, in print anyway, as the pattern of the contest emerges.

This season the principal interest has stemmed less from the question of United coming top again than the likelihood of Liverpool denying them the title with their first championship in 19 seasons. The Premier League's pulse rate quickened when Rafael Benítez's team won 4-1 at Old Trafford in March only to return to normal when it was realised that United had more in hand than just a match. Even so, Liverpool still seem to be the best bet to break Old Trafford's latest winning streak eventually, always provided that Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres can play together for any length of time without either suffering a strain.

With the passing of each season it becomes harder to look beyond the usual suspects to find not merely another team with championship potential, but one with the means to displace one of the top four. If any side was ripe for relegation from the Champions League this time it had to be Arsène Wenger's Arsenal, for whom the wand of youth has been reminiscent of Harry Potter on a bad day. Yet Arsenal are 10 points ahead of the side in fifth place, Aston Villa, whose relatively limited squad has not coped with the exhausting effects of competing in the Intertoto Cup last summer when they would have been better off preparing properly for the new season.

Since the Premier League broke away from the Football League to divide the Sky TV money among themselves, Chelsea are the only club to have sprung from the proletariat to become established among the elite for any length of time. They did so because in Jose Mourinho they found a manager to turn Roman Abramovich's squillions into a winning, if not always watchable, team. That combination of money and manager has yet to be repeated at Stamford Bridge, given that Guus Hiddink really does appear to be just passing through. Of course Manchester City are now backed by even more cash than Chelsea but will need to do more than spend the ransoms of several kings on BST Brazilians; that is Brazilians who only perform in British Summer Time.

In the Premier League's early years the contest was more open, even if Manchester United usually won it. Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United were early runners-up and Blackburn were champions in 1995, courtesy of Jack Walker's money, Kenny Dalglish's management and Alan Shearer's goals. Those days seem long gone now and it is even more difficult to imagine the champions being pursued by the likes of Ipswich Town, Watford and Southampton, as Liverpool were when they completed their hat-trick in the early 80s.

What the game needs to stiffen the general interest is for a giant to fall off the beanstalk and get relegated. After all Liverpool, Everton, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea have all gone down in living and, for some, loving memory. This season only Newcastle, football's Giant Despair, have promised to oblige although after Monday's win against Middlesbrough even the loony Toons may stay up, probably at the expense of Hull City who were at least original.